Chapter Fourteen #3
The viscountess was more angry than he’d ever witnessed.
Not even the dreaded Mrs. Ravencraft could engender such heat in the lady.
It was a quiet and restrained fury, to be sure, but anybody at all acquainted with her would know it was frightening in its depth.
She had been quite right to send Miss Poppy and Miss Pansy out of the drawing room and above stairs before the gentlemen came in from their port.
Those two men would not enjoy the benefit of the ladies’ company a minute longer than they already had.
If there had been a moment of enjoyment during that cursed evening, it was the expression on the gentlemen’s faces when they’d entered the drawing room and found it out.
The ladies they had toyed with were not to be toyed with longer.
The very nerve of them being surprised, as if they were to be entertained after their shameful behavior.
The night had ended very early.
Smuckers had just the night before last had to battle housebreakers.
He was beginning to think those criminals had better manners.
He did not imagine the false baron would have led anybody on to such a degree.
That fellow had just tried to make off with the Patinir.
These two scoundrels were making off with the twins’ hearts!
He’d like to spray them in the face with his pump-can of gin. If he could make it look like an accident, he would do it too.
The servants were all abuzz with the why of it. Why did Lord Burkhart and Mr. Lelander seek to leave so abruptly? Smuckers was less interested in their reasons, whatever they pretended them to be. They behaved ungentlemanly, they had affected the twins, and that was all he needed to know.
After the house was abed, Mrs. Featherstone had attempted to make hay with the whole thing, but she did not get very far with it.
The necessary accompaniment to her enjoyment of rehashing disasters was his decanter of sherry.
That decanter had been taken by Henrietta to the twins.
As a usual thing, he would be outraged that a lady’s maid had stolen his sherry, but in this case it was approved of.
At least, it had been approved of by him.
Mrs. Featherstone was rather sullen over it and had marched off to her bed.
Now, the day was just dawning as Johnny Johns supervised the grooms in getting the carriages ready.
Smuckers had been tempted to tell the man to leave it up to Lord Burkhart’s and Mr. Lelander’s own coachmen, but he did not bother with it as he knew it would never be agreed to.
Johnny Johns was the master of everything that happened in the stables, and nobody else.
Mr. Moreau was another story, though. Their cook was perfectly agreeable to serving a very pathetic breakfast to Lord Burkhart and Mr. Lelander. They were to have lukewarm water only just tinged with tea, no coffee, a few slices of burnt toast, and no butter or jam.
If anything could tell these two men what the house thought of them, it was dry, burnt toast and weak, lukewarm tea.
They had come down the stairs looking sheepish. Then they had viewed Mr. Moreau’s slim offerings and had stared at one another. Smuckers was certain they felt the insult of it.
They did not stay long at their weak tea and burnt toast. “Perhaps we ought to wait for our valets in the carriage,” Mr. Lelander said quietly.
Lord Burkhart had nodded and they had made their way out. Their valets were still above stairs packing the trunks. If Smuckers had felt like being courteous, he would have sent Jimmy and Johnny up to lend a hand. He did not feel like being courteous.
In fact, he did not even go to the doors to open them. Let these fellows open them up themselves. They deserved no further courtesy at Chemsworth Hall.
At first, they walked very slow toward the doors so that the butler might have the chance to get ahead of them. Then it dawned on them that the butler had no intention of doing it.
They opened the doors themselves and stepped out.
At least, they were upright when they took the first step. Somehow, they’d both just flown through the air and landed on their backs on the drive.
Now Smuckers did hurry toward the door. If they had both had the foolishness to fall while walking, he would like to see it. And savor it.
As they scrambled up and brushed at the mud and snow on their coats, Smuckers observed that the step had been covered with marbles. The sort of marbles that could be found in the nursery. The sort of marbles that would be in the possession of Teddy and Bertie.
Then perhaps there was the sound of soft laughter overhead. It was a very naughty thing they’d done, and he quite approved.
Lord Burkhart stared at him. Then he looked up to the balcony. “Did you put them up to this?” he asked.
“No, but I would have, if I’d thought of it,” Smuckers said. He turned on his heel and walked away. The scoundrels could see themselves off on their own.
As he crossed the great hall, he encountered Smith and Meegan struggling with the trunks. “Your employers have just fallen on the drive,” he said. “Bon voyage.”
As he left them, he was further cheered to hear Mr. Lelander call out, “Careful!”
But to no avail, if the crashes and shouts were anything to go by. He went down to the kitchens to inform Mr. Moreau of the success of his breakfast.